Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its position in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Free Report) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 181,161 shares of the bank's stock after selling 13,993 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.24% of TowneBank worth $6,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TOWN. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of TowneBank by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 69,269 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,359,000 after buying an additional 19,847 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of TowneBank by 234.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 35,980 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 25,219 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in TowneBank by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 88,252 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,006,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in TowneBank during the 4th quarter valued at about $22,894,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in TowneBank by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 22,901 shares of the bank's stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 4,339 shares in the last quarter. 55.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TOWN. Hovde Group upgraded TowneBank from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $39.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, April 4th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of TowneBank in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

TowneBank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TOWN traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 279,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 258,887. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.61. TowneBank has a 12-month low of $25.70 and a 12-month high of $38.28.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.07. TowneBank had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 15.77%. On average, equities analysts predict that TowneBank will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

TowneBank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. TowneBank's payout ratio is currently 46.51%.

TowneBank Profile

TowneBank provides retail and commercial banking services for individuals, commercial enterprises, and professionals. The company operates through three segments: Banking, Realty, and Insurance. It accepts various deposits, including demand deposits, savings accounts, money rate savings, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.